Lost in The Stars

This Chinese mystery crime film takes key inspiration from the work of Alfred Hitchcock to deliver a twisting mystery which will have you constantly second guessing yourself. This inspiration comes from the 1960 Robert Thomas play this film is based on, A Trap for a Lonely Man, as it was originally to be adapted by Hitchcock. Although that adaptation was never made, this film pays homage to Hitchcock by using key elements typical of his films to build a stronger narrative and it allows the old story to be told in a way which is perfectly suited to modern cinema. So, any fans of classic Hitchcock films such as Psycho, North by Northwest, and Dial M for Murder, to name a few, will surely love this modern crime mystery. The skilled cast give complex and at times impenetrable performances which further builds the mystery as characters flip and make you constantly question who is really telling the truth.

The storyline follows He Fei (Zhu Yilong) as he is celebrating his wedding anniversary with his wife who randomly goes missing. Due to a lack of help from local police He gets assistance from Officer Zheng (Du Jiang), in finding his wife. His wife is found, and He wakes up next to her the following morning but finds that the woman next to him is not his wife, but a stranger (Janice Man) pretending to be his wife. He Fei hires a famous lawyer who is also on the island (Ni NI) to help him prove that the woman is not his wife as all the photos of his wife on his phone have been replaced with pictures of this strange woman. What follows is a complex investigation which brings up more questions and leads to several key mysteries being unearthed. With a twisting story that really sucks you in and will have you questioning every character on screen and being one of the biggest Chinese films of the year, this really is a film you just cannot miss.

James Patt